I was talking to a friend about this a little while ago. It is a shame that I think Hunter isn't getting his due as an important writer and only seems to exist as a fictional character, the Duke persona, if at all to younger generations. When his work merits attention, perhaps more so now in many ways. Because I am such a fan I love that Kerouac's estate is still putting "new" stuff out. For me every new publication, even if not as great as his best work, is interesting and worth a read. And I don't think on a larger literary scale Kerouac gets his proper respect either from academics etc. But at least there is an effort to keep the flame burning. I don't know the working of Hunter's Estate aside from bits and pieces I've read. Is Brinkley still involved? Is there tension between Juan and Anita that inhibits things? And I agree, these reissues with people like Lars Ulrich and whoever the hell did the Fear and Loating in Las Vegas 50th intro, does no favors. I'd love to see a collection of early works, short pieces like Fire in the Nuts, the third book of letters, hell I'll take unfinished pieces like whatever state Polo is My Life is in or the NRA book Brinkle mentions in one of the documentaries. I'd love to read these fragments, anything I think would help shine a light on Hunter for new generations. I have multiple copies of his book and fully plan to give my kids copies and hope that helps keep Hunter's flame burning in some small way
It would be amazing to get some new collections or anything meaningful, really. We need scholars to have access to the archives as well, so that we can get some proper critical attention and he can move beyond simply being the drugged-up clown that people think he was. The Kerouac estate obviously has its issues but they put out new material and care for his legacy even if only for their profit. The HST estate does nothing. Brinkley is not involved. He moved on long ago. The rest of it is split between people, which is probably why nothing gets done. I believe the actual literary portion of the estate is simply looked after by the lawyer, so all that happens is contracts get signed when a publisher gets in touch. Nothing proactive happens. I tried to put out a book of some unpublished work a few years ago and they wouldn't even respond. Sadly, we will probably never see anything positive.
That is a damn shame no one can find a way to coordinate his writing in an organized fashion and make sure it gets handled properly. It seems like if nothing else it would be financially valuable for whoever it concerns. I suppose the same could be said for Salinger. Only four books out there officially, though Catcher in the Rye probably does well to this day. I have been waiting years for work that was supposed to be published. But he has received plenty of acclaim compared to Hunter. Sad and frustrating Hunter's work that is available doesn't really get the attention it deserves. Even at some of his weaker of honestly lazier moments there are always some gems in there.
Like with Kerouac, even if Sampas is a tenuous relation looking to make money, it is good to see stuff. I was so excited when Atop and Underwood came out and, as not great as it is Orpheus Emerged. The Haunted Life I thought was interesting, even if very incomplete and the stuff in recent years is pretty interesting, Self Portrait and the Desolation Angel's book.
Like you, I'd love to see even that kind of stuff, notebooks, half finished pieces, shirt stories, etc from Hunter
PS- A few years ago, I suppose more than a few now, when Freak Kingdom and then your High White Notes and the Freak Power documentary, even (again not great, but still something) the Fear and Loathing in Aspen movie came out, it felt like this great swell of interest, at least to me. So here is hoping there will at least always be some interest brewing out there
Let's hope something happens. With at least some of his stuff in a university archive now, there is hope for some new information coming to light. I think my book and Denevi's one will set a foundation and show publishers that there is some market for these sorts of work and some legitimacy in HST as a literary figure. It would be good if the estate got on board, though.
I really enjoy your indepth excavations of hidden corners of the Beat universe. I'm sure there's many other Beat / Counterculture nerds out there who feel the same. I hadn't heard about the dishevelled state of the HST Estate. It's disheartening, and reminds me of the incredibly hamfisted 'editorial' work done on Jim Morrison's two posthumous poetry / notebook collections (Wilderness and The American Night), and the nightmare of Ken Kesey's archive rotting away in a barn.
The HST estate is a travesty. To be fair, it's a sort of legal nightmare and I know it's fractured between different groups, each of whom has their own interests, but the result is that no one takes care of anything other than a few incoming cheques. I would love to see his collected early short fiction or a better effort at his early non-fiction. (Great Shark Hunt has good content but it's totally random and badly edited.) Then there's the third letter collection... There's honestly so much that could be done and yet no one will do it. What a damn shame.
Hamfisted efforts are sadly quite common when profits are put over passion. I never realised this until working with different estates and realising the thankless task these people do and the difference that they make.
This is very informative. Recently I had a revelation about the term Gonzo. My intuitive theory is simple. The slang term Gone, meaning "knowledgeable about hip stuff" "extremely hip" "intoxicated/crazy" "deeply engaged" -- with a stylized "zo" for emphasis. Hunter says in the interview you have shared that the music of language was of primary importance to him (to paraphrase.) I can totally picture someone describing Hunter, or Hunter himself spontaneously saying, "He was Gonzo." (By the way, it is a reference to a Zen Buddhist Sutra, as well, but that would diverge from this conversation.)
Before even getting into the meat of this article, Kerouac's description of the doomed Natalie Jackson in The Dharma Bums as a "real gone chick" immediately echoed in my head. I had to look.
TheFreeDictionary.com gives a slang definition of the adjective 'gone' as "in an exhilarated state, as through music or the use of drugs".
This seems to comfortably fit Kerouac's usage of the term. The slang etymology of 'gone' and where Kerouac got this word would be a fascinating exploration in and of itself. My very, very brief foray down this path didn't yield much. And so it is very likely that the source of this definition is the meaning thought to have been given it by Kerouac.
But continuing on, the word Gonzo has a very Italian or Spanish ring to me. This is because of the suffix 'zo'. I then looked for this suffix. Indeed the vast majority of words ending with 'zo' are of Italian or Spanish origin. Interestingly, the word 'Gonzo' is in there too. But that comes right back here. Also, I'm not sure if 'zo' is technically even a suffix.
In any case, I couldn't find a definitive Italian suffix of 'zo'. The closest I did find was the Spanish suffix 'izo'. According to HowIsMySpanish.com this just happens to mean "Forms adjectives from other adjectives, nouns, and verbs usually denoting propensity or likeness".
So, combining the slang definition of 'gone' and the 'izo' suffix as defined above, the word 'Gone-izo' can be constructed. Therefore, used as an adjective this would mean: "with a propensity or likeness to being in an exhilarated state as through music or the use of drugs."
Shortened to 'Gonzo' we have a perfect description of Hunter's emerging style. That is, Cardoso's use of the word conveyed the nature of HST's new journalism as likened to being in an exhilarated state as through music or the use of drugs. A meaning that certainly resonated with HST's unique style, not to mention the times.
Now ... I am not suggesting that either Cardoso, HST or anyone else sourced 'Gonzo' from Kerouac's use of 'gone' and then added the suffix 'izo' as an enhancing modifier to explicitely create a new word. I am also not proposing this as a serious alternative theory. There's way too much research and verification that would need to be done. But it all does strangely fit in a retrospective, top-down analytical way.
---
I have had my own experiences in this regard. In another time and place, a close friend and I had established a kind of mini "Libertine Circle". Long story short, it was stillborn. But we did get as far as naming our little clique, a name I shall not repeat here.
In any event, years later when we were reminiscing over those times, during the course of that conversation, I had casually implied that the name of our clique had been my invention. He immediately balked and stated that, no, he had been the one to come up with our name. This, of course, immediately led to a disagreement, but quickly ended with both of us realizing that it was impossible to conclusively prove either way. And so where each of us had been so absolutely certain for years had turned into doubt.
I think of that often. This article made me think of it again. Perhaps sometimes it is the case that the true origin of a word or phrase is not who said it first, but its semantic birth, the instant when its meaning becomes clear to all who behold it. For while my friend and I had argued over the origin of our clique's name, what we did not think to debate or argue about was what we had meant by it. And I am still absolutely sure of that no matter who had actually vocalized it first.
Your connection of Kerouac's "gone" and some sort of Latin "-zo" suffix is an interesting theory. It's not impossible.
As to the name of your group, it's not surprising that both of you would have different memories. I've spent decades researching Beat history and invariably if you ask five different people what happened 30 yrs ago, they'll give you five different accounts, usually with each person putting himself at the centre. It's just how human memory works.
Thank you for the deep dive into the Gonzo orgins (and for High White Notes). I long ago abandoned the hope of seeing The Mutineer letters book being published. In a perfect secnario, it sounds like you would be a good choice to edit it into form! There is so much to be gleaned from the first two collections, but I imagine from 1976 on, the letters would likely be more challenging to cobble together coherently, so that would quite a hill to climb.
Oh I would love to do that. Even more than that, I'd love to do a proper HST collection. The Great Shark Hunt has great material but it's terribly edited. I'd love to gather his early work and put it into a more coherent form and include some short fiction as well. Alas, it ain't gonna happen. Not from me and not with the estate being as mismanaged as it is. As for the letters... I'm not 100% sure what's going on. There are mixed messages coming from various parties but it all points to publication being unlikely. I think perhaps HST was a bit unflattering to certain people in certain of those letters and that's a hindrance. I think it's also a concern that his mental deterioration might be evident and those wishing to preserve the illusion of Gonzo perfection might want to hide that.
Great point, and sort of what I was alluding to. I am sure the quality of the correspondence may have gone downhil compared to the 60's and early 70's letters.
That is one of the things that impressed me about those books - the sheer time and attention to writing those letters, and the effort he put into them by making carbon copies ... seemingly knowing that someday they would come to light. I honestly go back to those books more and more.
Also, an extensive and well edited anthology a la The Great Shark Hunt would be amazing, especially if some of the early 60s content previously unavailable could be included.
I was talking to a friend about this a little while ago. It is a shame that I think Hunter isn't getting his due as an important writer and only seems to exist as a fictional character, the Duke persona, if at all to younger generations. When his work merits attention, perhaps more so now in many ways. Because I am such a fan I love that Kerouac's estate is still putting "new" stuff out. For me every new publication, even if not as great as his best work, is interesting and worth a read. And I don't think on a larger literary scale Kerouac gets his proper respect either from academics etc. But at least there is an effort to keep the flame burning. I don't know the working of Hunter's Estate aside from bits and pieces I've read. Is Brinkley still involved? Is there tension between Juan and Anita that inhibits things? And I agree, these reissues with people like Lars Ulrich and whoever the hell did the Fear and Loating in Las Vegas 50th intro, does no favors. I'd love to see a collection of early works, short pieces like Fire in the Nuts, the third book of letters, hell I'll take unfinished pieces like whatever state Polo is My Life is in or the NRA book Brinkle mentions in one of the documentaries. I'd love to read these fragments, anything I think would help shine a light on Hunter for new generations. I have multiple copies of his book and fully plan to give my kids copies and hope that helps keep Hunter's flame burning in some small way
It would be amazing to get some new collections or anything meaningful, really. We need scholars to have access to the archives as well, so that we can get some proper critical attention and he can move beyond simply being the drugged-up clown that people think he was. The Kerouac estate obviously has its issues but they put out new material and care for his legacy even if only for their profit. The HST estate does nothing. Brinkley is not involved. He moved on long ago. The rest of it is split between people, which is probably why nothing gets done. I believe the actual literary portion of the estate is simply looked after by the lawyer, so all that happens is contracts get signed when a publisher gets in touch. Nothing proactive happens. I tried to put out a book of some unpublished work a few years ago and they wouldn't even respond. Sadly, we will probably never see anything positive.
That is a damn shame no one can find a way to coordinate his writing in an organized fashion and make sure it gets handled properly. It seems like if nothing else it would be financially valuable for whoever it concerns. I suppose the same could be said for Salinger. Only four books out there officially, though Catcher in the Rye probably does well to this day. I have been waiting years for work that was supposed to be published. But he has received plenty of acclaim compared to Hunter. Sad and frustrating Hunter's work that is available doesn't really get the attention it deserves. Even at some of his weaker of honestly lazier moments there are always some gems in there.
Like with Kerouac, even if Sampas is a tenuous relation looking to make money, it is good to see stuff. I was so excited when Atop and Underwood came out and, as not great as it is Orpheus Emerged. The Haunted Life I thought was interesting, even if very incomplete and the stuff in recent years is pretty interesting, Self Portrait and the Desolation Angel's book.
Like you, I'd love to see even that kind of stuff, notebooks, half finished pieces, shirt stories, etc from Hunter
PS- A few years ago, I suppose more than a few now, when Freak Kingdom and then your High White Notes and the Freak Power documentary, even (again not great, but still something) the Fear and Loathing in Aspen movie came out, it felt like this great swell of interest, at least to me. So here is hoping there will at least always be some interest brewing out there
Let's hope something happens. With at least some of his stuff in a university archive now, there is hope for some new information coming to light. I think my book and Denevi's one will set a foundation and show publishers that there is some market for these sorts of work and some legitimacy in HST as a literary figure. It would be good if the estate got on board, though.
I really enjoy your indepth excavations of hidden corners of the Beat universe. I'm sure there's many other Beat / Counterculture nerds out there who feel the same. I hadn't heard about the dishevelled state of the HST Estate. It's disheartening, and reminds me of the incredibly hamfisted 'editorial' work done on Jim Morrison's two posthumous poetry / notebook collections (Wilderness and The American Night), and the nightmare of Ken Kesey's archive rotting away in a barn.
The HST estate is a travesty. To be fair, it's a sort of legal nightmare and I know it's fractured between different groups, each of whom has their own interests, but the result is that no one takes care of anything other than a few incoming cheques. I would love to see his collected early short fiction or a better effort at his early non-fiction. (Great Shark Hunt has good content but it's totally random and badly edited.) Then there's the third letter collection... There's honestly so much that could be done and yet no one will do it. What a damn shame.
Hamfisted efforts are sadly quite common when profits are put over passion. I never realised this until working with different estates and realising the thankless task these people do and the difference that they make.
This is very informative. Recently I had a revelation about the term Gonzo. My intuitive theory is simple. The slang term Gone, meaning "knowledgeable about hip stuff" "extremely hip" "intoxicated/crazy" "deeply engaged" -- with a stylized "zo" for emphasis. Hunter says in the interview you have shared that the music of language was of primary importance to him (to paraphrase.) I can totally picture someone describing Hunter, or Hunter himself spontaneously saying, "He was Gonzo." (By the way, it is a reference to a Zen Buddhist Sutra, as well, but that would diverge from this conversation.)
Very thought provoking article.
---
Before even getting into the meat of this article, Kerouac's description of the doomed Natalie Jackson in The Dharma Bums as a "real gone chick" immediately echoed in my head. I had to look.
TheFreeDictionary.com gives a slang definition of the adjective 'gone' as "in an exhilarated state, as through music or the use of drugs".
This seems to comfortably fit Kerouac's usage of the term. The slang etymology of 'gone' and where Kerouac got this word would be a fascinating exploration in and of itself. My very, very brief foray down this path didn't yield much. And so it is very likely that the source of this definition is the meaning thought to have been given it by Kerouac.
But continuing on, the word Gonzo has a very Italian or Spanish ring to me. This is because of the suffix 'zo'. I then looked for this suffix. Indeed the vast majority of words ending with 'zo' are of Italian or Spanish origin. Interestingly, the word 'Gonzo' is in there too. But that comes right back here. Also, I'm not sure if 'zo' is technically even a suffix.
In any case, I couldn't find a definitive Italian suffix of 'zo'. The closest I did find was the Spanish suffix 'izo'. According to HowIsMySpanish.com this just happens to mean "Forms adjectives from other adjectives, nouns, and verbs usually denoting propensity or likeness".
So, combining the slang definition of 'gone' and the 'izo' suffix as defined above, the word 'Gone-izo' can be constructed. Therefore, used as an adjective this would mean: "with a propensity or likeness to being in an exhilarated state as through music or the use of drugs."
Shortened to 'Gonzo' we have a perfect description of Hunter's emerging style. That is, Cardoso's use of the word conveyed the nature of HST's new journalism as likened to being in an exhilarated state as through music or the use of drugs. A meaning that certainly resonated with HST's unique style, not to mention the times.
Now ... I am not suggesting that either Cardoso, HST or anyone else sourced 'Gonzo' from Kerouac's use of 'gone' and then added the suffix 'izo' as an enhancing modifier to explicitely create a new word. I am also not proposing this as a serious alternative theory. There's way too much research and verification that would need to be done. But it all does strangely fit in a retrospective, top-down analytical way.
---
I have had my own experiences in this regard. In another time and place, a close friend and I had established a kind of mini "Libertine Circle". Long story short, it was stillborn. But we did get as far as naming our little clique, a name I shall not repeat here.
In any event, years later when we were reminiscing over those times, during the course of that conversation, I had casually implied that the name of our clique had been my invention. He immediately balked and stated that, no, he had been the one to come up with our name. This, of course, immediately led to a disagreement, but quickly ended with both of us realizing that it was impossible to conclusively prove either way. And so where each of us had been so absolutely certain for years had turned into doubt.
I think of that often. This article made me think of it again. Perhaps sometimes it is the case that the true origin of a word or phrase is not who said it first, but its semantic birth, the instant when its meaning becomes clear to all who behold it. For while my friend and I had argued over the origin of our clique's name, what we did not think to debate or argue about was what we had meant by it. And I am still absolutely sure of that no matter who had actually vocalized it first.
Your connection of Kerouac's "gone" and some sort of Latin "-zo" suffix is an interesting theory. It's not impossible.
As to the name of your group, it's not surprising that both of you would have different memories. I've spent decades researching Beat history and invariably if you ask five different people what happened 30 yrs ago, they'll give you five different accounts, usually with each person putting himself at the centre. It's just how human memory works.
Thank you for the deep dive into the Gonzo orgins (and for High White Notes). I long ago abandoned the hope of seeing The Mutineer letters book being published. In a perfect secnario, it sounds like you would be a good choice to edit it into form! There is so much to be gleaned from the first two collections, but I imagine from 1976 on, the letters would likely be more challenging to cobble together coherently, so that would quite a hill to climb.
Oh I would love to do that. Even more than that, I'd love to do a proper HST collection. The Great Shark Hunt has great material but it's terribly edited. I'd love to gather his early work and put it into a more coherent form and include some short fiction as well. Alas, it ain't gonna happen. Not from me and not with the estate being as mismanaged as it is. As for the letters... I'm not 100% sure what's going on. There are mixed messages coming from various parties but it all points to publication being unlikely. I think perhaps HST was a bit unflattering to certain people in certain of those letters and that's a hindrance. I think it's also a concern that his mental deterioration might be evident and those wishing to preserve the illusion of Gonzo perfection might want to hide that.
Great point, and sort of what I was alluding to. I am sure the quality of the correspondence may have gone downhil compared to the 60's and early 70's letters.
That is one of the things that impressed me about those books - the sheer time and attention to writing those letters, and the effort he put into them by making carbon copies ... seemingly knowing that someday they would come to light. I honestly go back to those books more and more.
Also, an extensive and well edited anthology a la The Great Shark Hunt would be amazing, especially if some of the early 60s content previously unavailable could be included.
Sadly, all just wishful thinking now, I suppose.